Friday, November 23, 2012

TSA Week in Review: Pen Pistol Discovered at Allentown (ABE)

A pen pistol discovered at Allentown (ABE).

We’ve
Been Expecting You, Mr. Bond:
A pen pistol (unloaded) was discovered in the carry-on bag of an Allentown
(ABE) passenger. At first, the passenger claimed it was just and pen and later
admitted it was a gun.

Ammo
in Pocket:
Usually, passengers just have keys or spare change in their pockets when they
alarm the body scanners, but a passenger at Detroit (DTW) had a magazine with seven rounds of
.32 caliber ammo in his pocket.

Inert
Ordnance and Grenades Etc. –
We continue to find inerthand grenades and
other weaponry on weekly basis. Please keep in mind that if an itemlooks like a realistic bomb, grenade, mine, etc.,
it is prohibited - real or not. When these items are found at a checkpoint or
in checked baggage, they can cause significant delays. I know they are cool
novelty items, but it is best not to take them on a plane. Read here
and here on
why inert items cause problems.

Four
inert grenades were discovered this week. Two in checked bags at San Francisco
(SFO) and Las Vegas (LAS), and the other two in a carry-on bag at LaGuardia
(LGA). The grenade from LAS was discovered in the bag of a 13-year-old who
stated he had it for the zombie apocalypse.

Items
in the Strangest Places
–It’s important to check your bags prior to traveling. If a prohibited item is
discovered in your bag, you could be cited and possibly arrested by local law
enforcement. Here are a few examples from this week where prohibited items were
found in strange places.

A
lipstick knife was discovered at Salt Lake City (SLC).

A
box cutter was found taped to the wall of a passenger’s bag -- under the lining
at Sacramento (SMF)

Two
belt buckle knives were discovered this week at Bradley (BDL) and Houston
(HOU).

A
pocketknife was discovered in a gum tin at Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP).

What
Not to Say at an Airport – Statements
like these not only delay the people who said them but can also inconvenience
many other passengers if the checkpoint or terminal has to be evacuated:

While
at the ticket counter, a passenger at Gulf Port (GPT) stated that he “possibly
had a bomb in his bag.” He later explained his reasoning. He thought his
statement would get him through security faster.

A
passenger at Charlotte (CLT) who was informed she couldn’t take an item on the
plane stated: “I hope someone comes in here and blows you all up.”

Stun cane discovered at CLE.

Stun
Guns – Four
stun guns were discovered this week in a carry-on bags around the nation: Two
were discovered at Denver (DEN), one at Richmond (RIC), and lastly, the one
discovered at Cleveland (CLE) was affixed to the end of a walking cane!

Unfortunately
these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about
these finds. Sure, it’s great to share the things that our officers are
finding, but at the same time, each time we find a dangerous item, the
throughput is slowed down and a passenger that likely had no ill intent ends up
with a citation or in some cases is even arrested. This is a friendly reminder
to please leave these items at home. Just because we find a prohibited item on
an individual does not mean they had bad intentions, that's for the law
enforcement officer to decide. In many cases, people simply forgot they had
these items.

18 comments:

Anonymous
said...

What is it some people don't understand about NO GUNS OR KNIVES OR INERT GRENADES in carry-on luggage or in your pocket or whatever? Forgetfulness is one thing, but trying to sneak a firearm through the effective screening procedures at a TSA Checkpoint is stupid! I'v been turning into a bit of a road warrior recently, and all I can say about the TSA screeners is they are polite, professional and sometimes funny as they hurry me through the process. They answer all my newbie traveler questions with courtesy and patience. I've learned to put my shaving kit with a disposable razor in my checked luggage and I've reduced my carry-on baggage to the minimum - just my laptop, power brick, a few pens and accessories and I'm home free! Keep up the great work, TSA and thanks for your watchfulness!

Some of these folks are trying to get away with something, but many just make a mistake with a firearm or other prohibited item. It is important to NEVER put a firearm, knife, or other weapon into ANY bag that you EVER take on an aircraft.

Oh, you mean the watch that was perfectly fine with LAX TSA, but freaked Oakland TSA out so much they called law enforcement and had the guy arrested?

You mean the watch that was NOT a threat, weapon, bomb, nor incendiary, but rather was a custom timepiece carried by the creator and owner of said timepiece?

You mean the watch that you already posted on, but needed to fill up this blog post and try to scare people, so you unnecessarily put it in here again?

Oh, THAT watch.

I think that watch should certainly garner a closer look from TSA after viewing it in the xray machine, but TSA should have someone with enough knowledge and intelligence to inspect the item and *politely* talk with the owner to determine it was nothing but an artful watch.

That IS your job and is why taxpayers are spending $6 Billion every year on you guys.

Again, ~30 guns caught. Based on known failure rates and updated (paraphrased) statements such as "The failure rate has not changed much over time," we can assume ~70 guns made it on. Why are the planes not falling from the skies again? Oh yeah, I remember. The TSA overstates its effectiveness as well as the overall terrorist threat in order to scare us into submitting to any procedure they demand.

So to all of the people who think TSA is out to harass everyone, do these pictures make it clear the threat is real, and TSA is in place for a reason. If the government decided to get rid of TSA and law enforcement in the airports, like so many of you bloggers request, you would be sitting next to passengers' carrying these items onto your flight, with your family sitting next to them also. At the same time, you would have no protection preventing these items from getting onto the plane, and no protection from an event occurring on your flight. From the responses I have read on various topics in this blog, it appears this is what most of you want.

"...So to all of the people who think TSA is out to harass everyone, do these pictures make it clear the threat is real, and TSA is in place for a reason. "

No.

And please stop with the "You Must Want NO Security" rhetoric. Pre-September 11 security will be fine thank you. If that isn't an option then I'll take moving the functions of TSA to private companies instead.

@Wintermute, you make an awfully big assumption with your comment "we can assume ~70 guns made it on."

Sorry, but as this blog shows, TSA is catching people with weapons trying to go through security and whether it is inadvertant or on purpose, this is why we have TSA. No one is secure when an unauthorized person is armed on a plane, and I am a pro-gun individual!

This would be the watch that had no explosives in it and in which the wearer had all charges dropped against him by the DA? That became viral and is looking like an embarrassment to your agency? Yea, great thing to post as a "good catch." You really thought that through.

Assuming that the reinforced doors mean no one is going to shoot their way in (loved the comment about the plastic knife "while the passengers sit and do nothing"), and the pilots are instructed to not open the door even if someone is slashing people in the isles, then I ask

What is the real harm if someone boards the plane with a firearm? To shoot some people and still not get into the drivers seat?

Yes 9/11 was bad. No I don't want to be one of the 6 people shot. But the biggest problem long ago seemed to be someone wanting to be flown to Cuba.

The biggest change seems to be the TSA justifing their existance and the mis-labeling of "land of the free."

Between the armed air marshals and people having shown their willingness to defend strangers from an armed or ill passenger, why can't we go back 20 years.

There is a BIG price tag to insure people don't bring the large size toothpaste onboard.

Anonymous said...This would be the watch that had no explosives in it and in which the wearer had all charges dropped against him by the DA? That became viral and is looking like an embarrassment to your agency? Yea, great thing to post as a "good catch." You really thought that through.

November 26, 2012 11:14 AM..............

Lack of thought seems to be pretty common at TSA given the recent postings attacking citizens posted by TSA employees who on other occasions censor free speech in violation of our Constitution.

"Explain your reasoning for bothering people who say they have bombs in their luggage?"

Specifically, people that give these warnings are guilty of attitude problems. They are not showing proper respect for authority. They test the organization and must be dealt with quickly lest the problem migrate to the traveling public.

Anonymous said..."Explain your reasoning for bothering people who say they have bombs in their luggage?"

Specifically, people that give these warnings are guilty of attitude problems. They are not showing proper respect for authority. They test the organization and must be dealt with quickly lest the problem migrate to the traveling public.

Please show me any law that states you must show respect to authority. Hint: there isn't one. TSA will gain respect when they deserve respect. They are much-maligned for a reason.